Outer shirts and blouses



Dec. 4, 1962 T. B. TERRY ETAL 3,065,413

OUTER SHIRTS AND BLOUSES I Filed Jan. 3, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W H INVENTORS I Hi H Ail/RED c. 14/4730 ATTORNEYS Dec. 4, 1962 1-. B. TERRY ETALV OUTER SHIRTS AND BLOUSES 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Filed Jan. 3, 1958 INVENTORS 77Q5VT5. 727? Alf/P150 c. W4 rsa/v BY g v 37 ATTORNEYS aired.

Fiied .lan. 3, H58, Ser. No. 766,992 2 Claims. (til. 33-12) This invention relates to outer shirts or blouses, and particularly to mens outer shirts. This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 670,768, filed July 9, 1957, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to the type of outer shirt known as a sport shirt which is usually constructed of material provided with design figures which reoccur symmetrically throughout the material. Such figures may be plaid figures or figures of other design. As applied to shirts of this type, the invention resides primarily in the provision of such a shirt having pockets disposed in the usual position but with the design figures thereon being in substantial registry with the design figures on that portion of the shirt which the pocket overlies. Moreover, the invention relates to the provision of a pattern arrangement in accordance with which this may be effected with far less material than has been hitherto possible. It is a principal object of the invention to provide a shirt so constructed and to provide a novel means for effecting the same.

While, prior to the present invention, sport shirts with design figures thereon have been known to be provided with pockets, the design figures on which are in registry with the material which the pocket overlies, it has been impossible to eifect this in the manufacture of shirts from standard width bolts of cloth, unless extra yardage is employed on which pocket blanks with the exact design for effecting such registry are marked, and from which they are then cut. Moreover, to manufacture a shirt with pockets the designs of which are in register with the designs on the material they overlie, in this known manner, is time consuming and requires extra skilled labor. Otherwise it is not possible to effect the desired result. Ac cordingly, except for the most expensive types of shirts it has been customary in the past to disregard the desirable feature of having pockets in registry and to employ instead pockets the designs on which are disposed haphazardly with respect to the designs on that portion of the shirt to which the pocket is attached. in accordance with the present invention the desirable effect of having the designs in registry even on the pockets is obtained in a very simple manner which can be accomplished at a minimum of manufacturing expense, with an actual saving in labor cost, and with a very substantial saving in yardage per dozen garments. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a shirt by such means and with such savings.

The usual sport shirt with plaid or other figures thereon has hitherto been made of a back and separate front pieces which are joined to the back at the sides. This has presented a problem of insuring the matching of the designs along the seam lines. It is another object of the present invention to overcome this disadvantage by providing integral back and front portions of one piece of material, thus eliminating the side seams and the problem of matching the design figures at the sides of the garment.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing sleeves made from blanks which, in one form of the invention, are joined at the top or directly to the rear thereof. This permits the joining of the sleeve and the shoulder by one continuous stitching line. This makes possible a simplified operation and effects savings in the cost of manufacturing. Moreover, when applied to a shirt made of material of the quick-dry type, which 3,fifi,418 Patented Dec. 4, 1962 may be washed and dried and worn without ironing, the invention possesses the meritorious feature of eliminating a number of seams which otherwise would prolong the drying operation. When used with dress shirts, this quick-drying can even be further facilitated by the elimination of the pockets.

In accordance with the invention, the bottom of the garment is the selvage edge of the goods and is not hemmed. This not only adds length but makes perfectly straight shirt bottoms and makes it possible with material of standard bolt width to dispose the collar, pockets and cuffs in the remaining space at the other edge of the material, thus saving yardage. It is a still further object of the invention to effect this.

Cutting the fronts and backs in the cross in accordance with the present invention not only results in saving yardage, but gives a better drape to the shirt, adding to the comfort and style of the garment. The invention has this for a further object.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following description and claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the shirt constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2. is a plan view of a number of blank pieces of toth disposed on a piece of a bolt of fabric material, showing the manner in which the blank pieces are disposed so as to effect the novel results of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a similar plan view of a modified arrangement.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a sport shirt made in accord ance with the preferred embodiment of the invention. This shirt is comprised of a main body portion 10 which is made of a single piece of material forming a back and two front portions. The garment includes sleeves 11 and i2, cuffs i3 and 14, a collar 15, and pockets 16 and 17. The material of which the garment is comprised is shown as having design figures thereon which design figures recur symmetrically throughout the material. While such design figures may take any form, they are here shown as being comprised of plaid lines. In accordance with a principal feature of the invention, the pockets 16 and 17 are so disposed on the front of the garment, and the design figures on the pockets themselves are so disposed, that they are in exact registry with the design lines on those portions of the garment which the pockets overlie and to which they are stitched.

The manner in which the invention is effected will be more apparent from a consideration of FIG. 2. In this figure, the reference numeral 18 indicates a main body blank. The sides and bottom of the blank are generally rectangular. The bottom edge 19 is on the selvage of the bolt of material 2.8. The side edges 21 and 2.2 of the main body blank 18 (which side edges become the front median line of the finished garment) are disposed substantially at right angles to the bottom selvage edge 19.

The top of the main blank 13 is of irregular but symmetrical design. It will be noted that the intermediate part of the main blank 18 will form the back of the garment while the lateral portions of this blank will form the front parts of the finished garment.

At the back, the upper edge of the main blank 18 is formed with a central cut-out 23 constituting a part of the neck opening in the finished garment. This cutout 23 is flanked by two downwardly diverging shoulder edges 24 and 25 which run, respectively, to the sleeve openings 26 and 27. Those portions of the main body blank 18 which form the front parts of the finished garment have upwardly converging top edges 28 and 29 openings 26 and 27. Adjacent the converging shoulder edges of the front portions are lateral cut-outs 3t} and 31 which, in the finished garment, form a part of the neck opening at the front of the garment. The side edges 21 and 22 of the main blank lid are adapted to be folded back upon themselves along the dotted lines 32- and 33 so as to form the front edge facings of the finished garment.

In FIG. 2 the reference numerals 34 and 35 indicate respectively the two sleeve blanks. The collar is comprised of three pieces, namely, a main piece 36 and two half pieces 37 and 3% which, in the finished garment are disposed beneath the main piece as. The cuffs 13 and 14 (FIG. 1) are double cuffs formed from the pair of blanks G9 and 4t? and 41, 42. The sleeve facing is made from two sleeve facing blanks 43.

In accordance with the principal feature of the invention the two pockets i6 and 17 (FIG. 1) are formed from the blanks M and 45 (FIG. 2). Particular note should be made of the location of these blanks 44 and 45 on the bolt of material 20. It will be seen that they are disposed with one edge along the upper selvage line of the bolt of material 29. Because of this, it is possible in completing the pocket merely to turn the upper edge under. This saves time and labor by eliminating the usual operation of hemming or facing of the upper pocket edge.

Furthermore, it will be noted that the pocket blanks 44 and 45 are disposed directly above the position they will assume in the completed garment. This position is indicated by areas 46 and 47, respectively, marked by the dotted lines and having appropriately similar shapes. It will be noted that the pocket blanks 44 and 45, after allowing for side hemming, and after being placed over areas 46 and 47, respectively, can be stitched on the main blank so that the design thereon is in exact registry with the design on that portion of the main blank which the pocket overlies. In such position the upper edge of the pocket will be about on the horizontal level of the lower edge of the arm hole. Thus, the design figures f the pocket will coincide exactly with the design figures of those portions of the front of the garment on which the pockets are disposed. As mentioned above, it has heretofore been impossible to effect this from a standard width bolt of material, unless considerably more length of the bolt of material is used from which added length the pocket blanks are cut. In accordance with the present invention, it is possible to effect this desired result with an actual saving of material, by having the lower edge of the main body pattern coincide with the lower selvage edge of the bolt of material, thus leaving room adjacent the other selvage edge of the material for various remaining patterns including, importantly, the pocket patterns positioned directly above and in transverse alignment with the position the blanks take on the finished garment.

The arrangement of the patterns on the bolt of material constitutes a marked advance in the art and in the present instance effects a yardage saving of as much as one yard per dozen garments.

A slightly modified arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 3. The difierences between this arrangement and that shown in FIG. 2 are principally two. They reside in making the collar of two pieces .8 and 49 rather than of three pieces as in the preceding embodiment. Moreover, the sleeves instead of being constructed of blanks as shown in the preferred embodiment (34 and 35 of FIG. 2) are here comprised of blanks d and 51 cut so as to be stitched at the top of the finished garment. Thus in contradistinction to conventional shirts, the sleeves of the garment of this embodiment are cut so that the joining stitching thereof is located along or near the top edge. Accordingly, the sleeve stitching can thus be done continuously starting at the cuff and extending up the length of the sleeve and then directly to the neck opening of the garment, thus effecting considerable saving in time and cost of manufacture. It is a principal feature of this embodiment to provide the construction which makes this possible, the arrangement being such, as described, that the closing of the sleeve is a continuation of the shoulder joining which permits these two operations to be accomplished in one operation.

It is sometimes desired that the shirt be provided with a yoke. In the conventional sport shirt made of figured iaterial, such as plaid, the matching of the figures on the yoke with those on the remainder of the shirt back presents a problem. In accordance with the present invention the yoke may be provided merely by cutting the main blank 18 (FIG. 3) along the dotted line 52 to provide a yoke blank 53. When this is then stitched the shirt during assembly, it is clear that no matching problem is presented.

With respect to both of the embodiments disclosed, there are other important advantages which this invention makes possible.

For example, usually in shirt making some of the blanks for one shirt are cut from different lengths of material.

With the arrangement of the invention, however, it is possible to cut one single shirt from one and the same length of material, and still save as much material per shirt as would be effected per shirt in the case where a dozen or more shirts are marked and cut at once. This results from the fact that all of the blanks employed in making one shirt are cut from the same single length of cloth.

Moreover, the invention makes possible the making of shirts having vertical stripes while still effecting the yardage savings. This is eifected by printing or otherwise disposing the design stripes transversely of the bolt of material rather than longitudinally of the bolt as would otherwise be necessary when employing standard width bolts.

In the manufacture of shirts, it is customary to roll out the bolt along a long table, and repeat this process bolt after bolt, laying one layer over the next until some 300 or more plies or layers are piled on each other. After this the top layer is marked, with markings for blanks for many garments. Cutting devices which cut through all 300 plies at once are then used to cut the blanks. Different cloth layers in the material being cut will be of different shades and usually this presents a real problem of matching up the shades so that all of the blanks for one shirt will be of identical shade. Where they do not match exactly the shirt must be sold as a second. Millions of dollars each year are lost because of this problem. This is avoided by the present invention in view of the fact that all of the blanks used in making a single shirt are cut from one single length of material.

Still further, proportionate savings in yardage are ob tained when short sleeve sport shirts are made. In ac cordance with the invention, the sleeve patterns are disposed at the end of the length of material used for the shirt and it is thus possible to reduce the length of the sleeves without interfering in any way with the remainder of the patterns disposed on the bolt.

While in a general manner there has been disclosed What are deemed to be practical and efficient embodiments of the invention, it should be well understood that the invention is not to be limited thereto as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition, and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

We claim:

1. A plurality of blanks of material for forming a shirt, said blanks being adapted to be cut from a predetermined length of material of a standard Width bolt having upper and lower selvage edges, said material having design features reoccurring regularly and symmetrically throughout, said blanks including a main body blank having upper and lower edges and a width sufiicient in the finished garment to extent around the body of the wearer and to meet in the front along a front median line, said main body blank located with said lower edge of said main body blank along said lower selvage edge of said bolt of material and said upper edge of said main body blank spaced from said upper selvage edge of said bolt of material being adapted to be cut from a portion of the material and having a central neck out out and sleeve cut outs spaced equidistantly from said neck cut out, pocket blanks located in the space between the upper edge of the main body blank and the upper selvage edge of the bolt of material and directly in transverse alignment with the position the pocket will assume on the main body blank when the garment is finished being adapted to be cut from a portion of the material, said pocket blank having design features thereon adapted when the pocket blank is finally positioned to register exactly with the design features on the material to which it is to be secured.

2. A plurality of blanks of material for forming a shirt, said blanks being adapted to be cut from a predetermined length of material of standard Width bolt having upper and lower selvage edges, said material having design features reoccurring regularly and symmetrically throughout, said blanks including a main body blank having upper and lower edges and a width sufficient in the finished garment to extend around the body of the wearer and to meet in the front along a front median line, said main body blank located with the lower edge of said main body blank along the lower edge of said bolt of material and with the upper edge of said main body blank spaced from the upper selvage edge of said bolt of material being adapted to be cut from a portion of the material and having a central neck out out and sleeve cut outs spaced equidistantly from said neck out out, pocket blanks located in the space between the upper edge of said main blank and the selvage edge of the bolt and directly in transverse alignment with the position the pocket will assume in the main body blank when the garment is finished being adapted to be cut from a portion of the material, said pocket blank having design features thereon which When the pocket blank is positioned on the main body blank register exactly with the design features on the front part of the main body blank to which it is to be secured, collar and cuff blanks located in the space between the upper edge of the main blank and the upper selvage edge of the bolt being adapted to be cut from a portion of the material, sleeve blanks located adjacent one end of said main body blank and transversely adjacent each other with respect to the bolt of material being adapted to be cut from a portion of the material, all of the blanks of material for forming the shirt being adapted to be cut from a length of material of the bolt which extends from the portion of material from which said sleeve blanks are adapted to be cut to the far side edge of that portion of the material from which the main body blank is adapted to be cut.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 364,219 Corser June 7, 1887 1,016,552 Cumnock Feb. 6, 1912 2,341,798 Lesser Feb. 15, 1944 2,835,898 Haberman May 27, 1958 

